Jalon Daniels Lights A Spark On Offense. But Is It Enough?
August 22nd, 2026
Makes plays.
Boy, this Jalon Daniels is exactly what Joe hoped he would be.
Joe remembers seeing Daniels in college playing for Kansas. Damn he was fun to watch, but he was as brittle as Benjamin Morrison. Joe loved how the Bucs signed him as an undrafted free agent. The word “fun’ kept bouncing in Joe’s head. Daniels has talent.
Joe got a chance to talk to Daniels’ parents after an early training camp practice and Joe told them their son is dangerous and Joe was happy the Bucs signed him.
But is he ready to be a backup to Baker Mayfield, as a No. 2 quarterback? Joe’s not sure about that.
Look, there was nothing not to like how Daniels brought instant excitement and a jolt to the offense Saturday night. He got the offense rolling when Jake Browning was absolutely getting beat to a pulp as his offensive line was basically five turnstiles.
Kansas City’s short-order cooks on defense had to respect Daniels’ legs, which helped open up the offense.
Chucky, the Bucs’ Super Bowl-winning coach, was working the game on the WFLA-TV Channel 8 broadcast and pointed out what he liked about Daniels and what concerned him.
Chucky noted on two consecutive plays Daniels was late getting out of the huddle, which sort told Chucky that Daniels was struggling with Zac Robinson’s playcalls. Maybe five minutes later, when being interviewed live on the game broadcast, Baker Mayfield said the biggest hurdle Daniels will have as a rookie is getting Robinson’s playcalls down.
Chucky was certainly onto something there.
Daniels was struggling with snaps from center, Chucky also noted. That sounds like a quarterback who was always in shotgun in college and high school and isn’t yet comfortable taking snaps from center.
Chucky also noted Daniels needs work throwing to the sidelines on short passes.
Does Joe like the results Daniels had? Yeah. Does Joe think the Bucs have something to work with? No doubt. Does Joe think Daniels is ready to be a No. 2 quarterback to Mayfield, who is known to take punishment from defenses?
Joe’s not willing to go there. Yet.
August 22nd, 2026 at 11:53 pm
A starling is born. He is athletic and smart. He is number 2. Will be a starter. Someday
August 22nd, 2026 at 11:54 pm
Oh; Baker looked horrific. Not that it matters…..preseason game.
August 22nd, 2026 at 11:56 pm
Everything you said is 100 percent Joe! Love the fire the kid brings. But it’s in the second half of these games. Hopefully, the coaches are/will be working him in to the second team. I know browning has more experience and has been working second team, but Daniel’s should definitely be in there competing with him.
August 23rd, 2026 at 12:07 am
Would like to see this kid against some stiffer competition, i.e. 1st and 2nd line players and see if what he does holds up with better players out there. I also would like to see how his intermediate and deep passes are when not running for his life. But I really like this kid, though not thrilled with his height. One thing I like is I didn’t see a pass thrown at a player’s kneecaps (*cough* Baker *cough*). Could be a diamond in the rough future starter. He definitely has the ability to get things going, and his legs helps open the offense up a bit. Hopefully they give him plenty of time next week.
August 23rd, 2026 at 12:10 am
Browning hasnt shown anything. Daniels should be working with the2nd Team more often
August 23rd, 2026 at 12:28 am
If we let Jaylon Daniels out the door the Atlanta Falcons will snatch him up in a second to haunt the Buccaneers sometime in the future twice a year.
August 23rd, 2026 at 12:29 am
Yes it is enough, he is better than Browning. If Baker goes down we are done, Daniels has more upside. Bazelak wasn’t even in the game today–👀
August 23rd, 2026 at 12:31 am
The biggest concern from Browning, for me, is the lack of zip on his passes. He’s throwing a bunch of soft serve garbage. I didn’t remember his arm being that weak so I went back and was rewatching his highlights from 2023, when he had a good run when forced to start, and well… his arm doesn’t look all that much better. Chase and Higgins were making a bunch of plays to bail him out, although Browning did have some pretty good accuracy.
While there were a few plays where Browning had some NFL zip on his passes, for the most part it was like watching Kyle Trask’s tape from the preseason of his rookie year, where he was more aiming the ball rather than throwing it.
Personally I’d have no issues handing the job to Daniels. If either Daniels or Browning have to play an extended amount of snaps the Bucs are probably screwed, but both are better than Teddy was last year. Also, with Daniels, you could try to let him make plays on the ground.
As far as the cap goes, Browning has $400K guaranteed – and the Bucs would only save around $50,000 in cap space if they went with Daniels, so basically the cap isn’t a consideration.
August 23rd, 2026 at 12:36 am
It’s hard not to get too excited after what the O showed when Browning was on the field. Yeah, I know the OL situation was beyond bad in the first half…but it’s not like Daniels was out there with studs. The question this team needs to answer is whether they’re content with going turtle with Browning or risking the chance of something interesting and dynamic happening with Daniels. Let him play the bulk of game 3. If the aura holds, take the risk. Try to put Browning on the P-Squad.
August 23rd, 2026 at 12:42 am
Frank Pillow – The chance that another team would grab Daniels, and give him a roster spot, is very low since he’s only been doing this against 3rd and 4th stringers. I think that’s a big part of the reason that Ballzsack started last week, they didn’t want Daniels to get on anyones radar. Anywho, I think the Bucs will be pretty safe to get him onto the practice squad, but if not, it wouldn’t shock me if they just made him the backup, and put Browning on the practice squad, as I think it’s really unlikely any team would sign him if he lost his job to an UDFA.
August 23rd, 2026 at 12:42 am
Positive takeaways… Jalen should be the backup.
The rookie CB has made the team. Dynamic.
Scott looks like the real deal in the nickel
Suddenly the depth at OLB/edge with BAIN, Yaya, Nelson, Walker, Mohammed, Kamara looks awesome
Bain only really went at the quarterback twice and both times looked real good.
Walker was extremely impressive.
Muhammed looked impressive.
Didn’t see much on the offense other than jail and a QB and Josh Williams is giving Tucker a real run for his money
August 23rd, 2026 at 12:45 am
All good on Daniel’s, until we realize he hasn’t thrown a pass over 15 yards yet. Can he make ALL the throws?
August 23rd, 2026 at 12:50 am
I forgot to mention a healthy KAM back returning kicks. He’ll be the sixth receiver because of that. He is dynamic.
August 23rd, 2026 at 1:11 am
The first big hit on Browning was downright brutal, up there with the Clowney college hit in 2013.
Wow! That one had to hurt.
August 23rd, 2026 at 1:16 am
I has very basic fixable things about him. He’s gonna be pretty good
August 23rd, 2026 at 1:16 am
Jalon Daniels is the Real Deal. They seem to have all his issues from college and he looks like a legit NFL QB now.
He should absolutely be the #2 QB behind Baker. He absolutely gives us the best chance to win if Baker goes down.
And next year, we should strongly consider letting Baker (and his team-crippling salary) walk and make Daniels our QB1.
Yes, he’s that good.